


Annoying Remorse

by KimothyinaJar



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Hallucinations, Kidnapping, M/M, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-03
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-10-06 10:54:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20505800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KimothyinaJar/pseuds/KimothyinaJar
Summary: Roman has to go be a valiant prince in order to save a most unusual damsel, much to the disapproval of his fellow sides.





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> k, this is my very first fanfic ever. please be aware of that. im sorry if this ends up sucking towards the end. also a lot of stuff in the tags doesnt happen till later in the story.

The day had started off normal enough. Roman had woken up, done his usual pep talk in front of his mirror (though today was a bit less peppy than usual for some reason) and then headed down to breakfast with all the rest of the sides. Well, almost all of them.

He sighed to himself as he remembered Deceit. He had punished himself dearly that night, yelling at himself and feeling horrible about the seemingly hopeless situation he had found himself in. After giving in to the pressure from Virgil and Patton, he had turned against the newest addition to their group. He didn't mean to, he just didn't want to lose what he already had. But after seeing how upset Dee had gotten, well he just couldn't feel right.

He sat down at his seat, contemplating exactly how to make it up to Dee. After all, even if the rest wouldn't accept him, the least Roman could do was offer a hand of friendship towards him.

“Hey Ro, how ya feeling?”

Roman startled at the sound of Patton’s voice, bumping the table a bit as he wildly looked around for him.

“Oh, me. Why would you even ask that Pat, I’m as fine as I've ever been,” he said with a bit of a dramatic flair. “I've just been a bit blue over what happened the other day with Deceit and all that..”

What… he hadn't meant to say that. Why did he say that? Now they were gonna get all worried and junk.

“Uh, I mean.. Nothing,” he said, desperately trying to backtrack over his previous sentence in an attempt to make them forget about it. It didn't work.

“Whoa Roman, why are you upset about that? I mean, it's not like you did anything wrong.” Roman could hear the confusion in Patton's words, but for some reason, he also heard some… contempt?

“Yeah, I mean. Deceit was wrong, you finally realized that and made everything right again. Nothing to be blue about Princey.” Virgil said from inside his hoodie. Roman wasn't quite sure why he was hiding there, but he also didn't really care right now.

“But I didn't. Because he wasn't wrong. I only agreed with you all because I didn't want you to be upset with me..” He clasped his hand over his mouth immediately after finishing that sentence. What was wrong with him this morning? Why was he being so truthful?... Deceit, something must have happened to him. It certainly would explain the tone of voice Patton had had with him earlier.

The other three sides looked at him, a bit of confusion and some distress written clearly on their faces. Even Logan's, which was a clear sign of something being wrong.

“Ro, I.., ” Patton began, but it was clear he didn't know how to finish his thought. Of course, since Deceit was missing Patton couldn't lie through his teeth about not being disappointed or angry with any of them.

“Somethings wrong.” Logan looked around at each of the sides, analyzing their moves and facial expressions. “One second.”

And with that final word he left. The rest of the sides looked around, at a loss of what to say or do.

“Well, might as well eat this,” Virgil says, already chowing down on the plate in front of him. Solemnly, Roman and Patton joined him.

Soon their plates were empty and Logan still hadn’t returned. Roman got up to leave, not wanting to spend another minute in the tense atmosphere.

“WAIT!” Roman jumped at the exclamation. He turned around to see Logan, out of breath with his tie crooked, standing by his seat.

“Logan?” Roman took a step towards him, unsure as to what was going on exactly.

“It's Thomas, he isn't lying,” Logan stated, adjusting his tie and composing himself.

“Well, isn't that a good thing? Why did ya rush over and make us worried Lo?” Patton crossed his arms, awaiting a response he was confident would confirm his claim.

“No Patton, you aren't understanding. Thomas isn't just not lying, he is sharing every thought he has with _everyone_.” The look on Logan's face was pained, it looked like he was also struggling with the same thing.

“Something happened to Deceit,” Roman muttered, already turning to go check on him. He knew it. He knew that what had happened must have hurt him. And now he had ducked out, just like Virgil had. He thought he had learned from that experience. Not to brush off the others. Not to be cruel or mean to them. After all, they all are part of Thomas, and he wouldn't be able to function properly without every single one of them.

Without waiting to hear Patton's inevitable warning, Roman exited the room. He practically ran to Deceit’s room, worried and a bit angry at him for being stupid enough to do this. Especially after everything he had said last time, about wanting to help and protect Thomas. When Roman got there he was going to have a stern conversation with the little liar.

When Roman finally reached the door he stopped, frozen in place by what he saw. On the door was a letter sealed in an envelope. He didn't even have to read it to know who it was from. The unmistakable seal staring back at him filled him with cold dread and silent rage.

The Dragon Witch had Deceit.


	2. Part 2

Roman rushed back to the dining room, hoping that the others hadn't left yet. It wasn't likely that any of the others would help him, but he had to at least try. Finding and rescuing Deceit on his own was not going to be an easy task, but he would do it if necessary.

“Roman,” he heard his name called as he re-entered the room. “Where did you rush off to bud? You had us kinda worried there for a sec.”

Patton's words, normally palatable and mostly reassuring, seemed hostile and accusatory. Roman almost flinched a little but managed to catch himself in time. It wouldn't do to have Patton upset _and_ concerned with him.

“Well, Padre, we have a bit of a major problem.” He managed to get those words out without too much unwanted emotional vulnerability bubbling to the surface. “Our lovely little snake friend has been kidnapped by my ever-present antagonist, the Dragon Witch.”

The room was silent for a few minutes too long. The air seemed still and Roman realized he was holding in his breath.

“Well, this is…” Logan adjusted his glasses, a clear sign of his unease. “Unexpected, and quite unfortunate”

“Well?” Roman was reaching his limit with these guys, if they weren't interested in helping couldn't they just come out and say it? He supposed that just because Dee was missing didn't mean that they couldn't still refrain from speaking if they didn't want to share. Roman was never good at not talking, hence why he had spilled all his beans at the table earlier that morning.

“Ro, please just calm down for a sec ok?” Patton's voice was uncharacteristically patronizing and it just made Roman more irritated. “Where did you even find that letter anyways? How are you so sure it's from the Dragon Witch and not Deceit himself?”

Roman inhaled sharply at Patton's accusation. Not only pegging Deceit as the villain once more, and with no evidence too, but also implying that Roman couldn't recognize the mark and handwriting of his own enemy. An enemy that he had technically created, although indirectly.

“If you don't want to help, that's all you had to say, _Pat_.” Roman fought to control the emotion behind his words. “How about you two? Any chance you will help me save a fellow side?” He doubted it, but asking was what he came here to do so that's what he did.

“I think I'm gonna sit this one out, Deceit isn't someone im interested in helping even if he is in trouble, ” Virgil mumbled his response from the table, somehow even further entrenched in his hoodie than he had been earlier. A flicker of worry for the anxious side crossed Roman's line of thought before he reminded himself that of the two, Deceit was a bit more of a priority right now. Especially considering that Virgil had Patton to help him through this and Deceit had no one. No one but Roman, though it dawned on him that Deceit didn't know that. A sudden sense of urgency compelled him to start rocking back and forth on his heels in anticipation of the rescue.

“Well, Teach. That leaves you.” He felt a bit of hope blossom in his chest as he waited for Logan’s response. Perhaps they would finally agree on something, especially since it seemed Logan was the only one taking this seriously; albeit for slightly different reasons.

“Unfortunately, as much as I agree with you on the severity of this issue, I am unable to aid in the rescue.” Roman sighed at the response, the bit of hope he felt now destroyed by Logan’s words. “Someone must keep an eye on Thomas to make sure he doesn't put himself in danger.”

“Alright, I suppose I can't exactly argue with that.” He looked down, now unsure if he could even do this. I mean, it's not like he hadn't had to rescue his fellow sides from the Dragon Witch before, but those times weren't as serious as this. When Logan had been kidnapped Thomas still felt his influence, it wasn't like now. Now Thomas had no ability to lie and neither did any of the sides.

“Look, Ro, I know you want to help him. But he is the _villain_. How do you know he isn't working with her? How do you know anything? Why do you care this much about being the hero?” Roman couldn't stop himself from flinching at Patton’s words. He was right, Roman did want to be the hero. Heck, that’s why he created the Dragon Witch in the first place. So he had a villain he could pretend to fight, to make himself feel heroic. But, that wasn't the only motivation he had this time. No, something else was there too, a feeling in his chest that compelled him to worry and care about Deceit.

“I’m sorry Patton, but I _have_ to do this. For all of us.” And with that, he left, on his way to save his damsel in distress.


	3. Part 3

It was dark. Very dark. And very very cold.

A single beam of light hit the center of the small room Deceit found himself in. He was lying in a small uncomfortable cot and a threadbare blanket was haphazardly thrown over his body. Sitting up, he noticed the chain attached to his ankle. He sighed, his entire body ached and his reactions were slowed due to the temperature.

He tried to recall what had happened before he woke up. He had been sitting in his room <strike>feeling upset about the outcome of the video</strike> trying to plan his next strategy. Then… he woke up here. It was strange, he couldn't recall anything more.

_ Well, no use sitting here and freezing to death_ he thought as he stood up. The floor felt like ice as he walked.over it towards the door. The chain abruptly came to an end a few very away. _Wonderful_ he thought with a sigh.

He quickly scurried back to the small bed, desperate to at least try and warm up. It was clear that this person who brought him here was trying to get him to lower his guard, one way or another.

A small part of him suddenly hoped it was one of the other sides playing a prank on him, though he highly doubted it. He knew what they all thought of him. It was pretty much impossible not to. He thought he had been making progress with Roman, but all that had been thrown out the window after that last debate. Laying down, he pulled his legs up into his chest and wrapped the thin blanket over his shoulders. He needed to stay awake and for that he needed to keep warm.

_ ** So you're awake then?** _

Deceit jumped up from his position, accidentally pulling his ankle down too hard. Cursing under his breath he looked around frantically for the source of the voice. But the room was just as empty as before.

_ ** Don't worry, I'm not in there with you. You are safe, for now at least.** _

The voice was sickly sweet and made Deceit feel extremely ill. Not wanting to waste any more energy, he laid back down in the bed.

“If you really want me to feel safe you could at least have given me a thicker blanket, ” his voice echoed off the walls till they were nothing more than a faint whisper.

_ ** Well, that would defeat my whole purpose. But of course, you already knew that. After all, you know everything don't you?** _

\---------------------------------------------------

Roman sighed as he looked over the contents of his bag once more. He had filled it to the brim with items he felt were necessary for the rescue trip. Bandages, assorted snack foods, water bottles, blankets, matches, were shoved tightly into the bag, nearly spilling out onto his bed.

“Alright, that should be everything,” forcing the bag closed and swinging it over his shoulder, he turned to exit the room. His let his thoughts wander back to the argument he had just left, starting to feel a little bad about his own attitude. He knows that Patton doesn’t like Deceit, and he knows why. But that still didn’t feel like a good reason to just leave him in the hands of the Dragon Witch of all people. He had modeled her after every evil villain he could think of, adding in all the especially bad traits. He hadn’t really thought about the consequences of this and has spent a lot of energy trying to keep her contained. Obviously his latest idea hadn’t been enough.

As Roman went to open the door, his head starting to hurt from all the noisy thoughts, it flew open on its own. Standing there was Patton, arms crossed and a very annoyed expression on his face.

“Heya, Pat. Look I’m sure whatever you have to say is really interesting and important or whatever but I am kinda in a hurry so if you could just….” Roman said, attempting to push past Patton and get on his way. But Patton stepped right back in his path again.

“You aren’t going anywhere,” His voice was filled with barely contained frustration, “We need to have a talk, **right now**.” Roman didn’t really have much of a chance of getting out of this. He let Patton lead him back into his room and dramatically fell down onto his bed.

“And what exactly is there to talk about?” The annoyed tone of Roman’s voice was fairly obvious and made the atmosphere of the room become even more tense.

“You know exactly what we have to talk about Roman.”

“Do I?”

“Dont play dumb.”

The silence felt like it went on forever before anyone spoke again.

“Alright,” Roman through his hands up, “You don’t want me to go and save Deceit.”

“Correct”

“Well, your coming here was futile ‘cause I’m already packed and I will be leaving” Roman glared at Patton, “Unless you want to lock me up in here, _pops_”

“I’m not going to do that Ro,” Patton sighed, sitting down on a chair across from Roman. “I just want you to think this through.”

“What is there to think about?”

“Your safety.” His voice had a sort of melancholy tone to it, a seriousness Roman had rarely seen Patton have. “This Dragon-Witch is a very dangerous and cruel person, I don’t want you to get yourself hurt trying to save someone who isn't really worth saving.”

Roman was silent. He just sat there, replaying Patton’s words over and over in his head. _Someone who isn't worth saving_. Does such a person even really exist? Even if they did, Deceit certainly didn't fit that description. Afterall, he was also a part of Thomas, was he not?

Roman stood up, making sure his bag was secure, and walked over to the door.

“Roman, think about this!”

“I already have.”

Not waiting for Patton’s response, Roman opened the door and left to go and save Deceit.


	4. Part 4

Roman slowed down his pace once he was far enough away from his room. Stopping to catch his breath, he looked back down the hallway. A part of him was having a hard time believing that the person he had just talked to was actually Patton, but he knew it had been. While the words were harsh, the emotions behind them could _only _have come from Patton.

Shaking his head, Roman turned and started to walk forward again. He didn't get very far though as he almost immediately ran straight into Logan.

"Roman, I was just looking for you." Without waiting for a response, Logan grabbed Roman's arm and led him down another hallway.

"Whatcha need Specs?" Roman said, impatient and growing more worried for Deceit by the second.

"I just wanted to check in on you and make sure you are prepared. Your battles with the Dragon Witch have historically been very dangerous." Logan did seem to have a worried look in his eyes, making Roman even more aware of exactly how bad the situation really was. He had never really thought of Deceit as a particularly important side before, in fact he really hadn't paid much attention to him at all. It was only recently that Roman had started interacting with this so-called "dark side", a name he was now regretting choosing for the sides of Thomas deemed bad by default.

" Yeah, I know Lo. But this is one battle I can't hesitate to fight, a side is in real danger and so is Thomas." Roman shifted his feet, starting to feel uneasy. "Are you sure you can't come with me?"

"No, I'm sorry Roman, " Logan gave him a sympathetic look, "Someone needs to keep an eye on Thomas right now. However, I believe I can offer you some assistance."

"And what might this assistance be, Teach?" Roman asked, his curiosity plainly showing on his face.

"It seems that Patton doesn't, support your rescue mission. I believe I may be able to keep him distracted while also keeping Thomas from making a fool of himself." As Logan said this, they heard a door open somewhere down the hallway they had exited from and a voice call out Roman's name.

"Well, if you are going to do something, now would be a really good time." Roman then grabbed Logan by the shoulders and pushed him towards where they had heard Patton's voice. "Good luck, he is not in a good mood right now." Roman whisper yelled as he turned around and started sprinting in the direction of the Dragon Witch's domain.

\----------------------------------------------

Deceit sat, shivering whilst covering his body with the thin blanket, on the cot. He had to think of something. Staying here really wasn't a good idea, he couldn't properly assess his situation till he got somewhere warm enough to clear his head.

At least the mysterious voice had left him alone. He had a hunch that it belonged to the Dragon Witch, a stupid villain Roman had made when he wasn't thinking clearly (when was he ever thinking clearly?) and had promptly avoided dealing with. If Deceit wasn't trying to get on his good side he would have already yelled at him for this lack of common sense.

_ God, it's so cold in here._ He found himself closing his eyes as he thought this. _Oh how easy it would be to just go to sleep right now. Who would really care anyways? Thomas has already made it very clear how much he doesn't need you._

Deceit opened his eyes quickly and dug his nails into his skin. That was close, too close._ It doesn't matter what Thomas thinks_ he reminded himself, _I am an important part of him and the others will notice soon enough. Even if they don't like him, they wouldn't let any harm come to Thomas._

He repeated these words to himself, over and over and over, digging further into his skin to keep himself awake and aware. He could do this, he could get through this.

<strike>Oh God, what was he going to do?</strike>

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is all i have for now. it might be a while till the next update. or it might be really soon. who knows? i certainly don't. see ya, whenever the next one is finished i guess.


End file.
